The War On Drugs

Lost In The Dream

Secretly Canadian

Street: 03.18

The War On Drugs = Tom Petty + Brian Eno

Perhaps you’ve never gotten into the Bon Ivers and Fleet Foxes of the world. Fair enough: They tend to be a bit precious. That said, if you check this one out, you might be pleasantly surprised. It suffers from none of the limp-dicked wounded troubadour shit so loathable in most indie Americana. Perhaps the most befuddling part of this album’s success, though, is that WOD haven’t made the slightest effort to revamp their sound since 2011’s excellent Slave Ambient. If anything, they’ve doubled-down on their Boss and Dylan worship. Sure, it sounds like a yawn fest on paper—all I know is, once I start playing this, I’m listening to the whole thing. This superb record is a testament to the power of good ol’ fashioned songwriting (and having a good drummer). Every cut splits the jugular. If there’s been a more glorious record this year, I haven’t heard it. –Dan Vesper